Just A Pleasant Interruption To The Past
by Euphony
Summary: *SPOILERS TO OOTP* Hermione's stuck in the past without Dumbledore. Lies, Challenges, Deceit, Romance, Stink bombs, Assumptions, and a Little bit of Magic ensues. Will the madness ever cease?!
1. Chapter 1 Interrupting The Past

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The Present Is Just A Pleasant Interruption To The Past

By: Euphony

A/N: Yes, this is HG/SB. Yes, she does go back in time yatta yatta yatta, and I know lots of people have done that plot but I hope mine will turn out unique and you will enjoy it anyway. I don't know about you, but I don't get sick of Hermione/Sirius stories. I love the couples that aren't used so often. Please review and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer – I don't own Harry Potter. Duh. Or anything associated with it. So you can't sue me. Oh and I got the title from lyrics in a song by Something Corporate... Konstantine ... download it if you want. It's my favorite song. 

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Hermione laid in her bed, her eyes transfixed on the minuscule crack on the crimson ceiling of her dormitory. 

'This is crazy, I'm never going to get any sleep.' She decided as she yanked herself up into a sitting position with her bare legs dangling over the side of the bed. The moonlight from the window at the far end of the room caught Hermione's profile and illuminated the river of tears that had run down her cheeks. She lingered there for a few seconds before she got fully up. 

"I think I need a library run, that always clears my head." She gingerly crept out of her dormitory, making sure not to wake any of the other sleeping girls. Before she headed for the library, she made a quick stop at the boy's dormitory. Being still quiet as a mouse, she tiptoed to the end of Harry's bed and opened his trunk, using a silencing charm on the hinges. Her hands went automatically to the bottom left corner. In a matter of moments her fingers closed around a silky mass with a piece of parchment wrapped up in it. Satisfied that she had come for what she needed, she closed the trunk and looked back up at the sleeping form of one of her best friends. She could clearly see that tears had spilled from his eyes not too long ago. 

'I know how you feel Harry.' She thought to herself. She crept back down into the common room, pulled the invisibility cloak over her and activated the Marauder's Map. Now in her sixth year, she had started to become more daring and had less tendency to follow school rules. Assured that no one was in her path she took off. She made it to the library without a hitch. Breathing a sigh of relief, she let the comfort of her favorite place in the world envelope her. Letting her mind wander and her feet carry her, before she knew it she was standing in front of a shelf in the library she had never been to before. 

'Hm, this seems interesting. I wonder why I never noticed this shelf before.' She wondered to herself as she yanked a large book of the shelf. Her knees nearly buckled under the weight of the large book. Hobbling slightly, she managed to get it to the nearest table. Checking the map once more to make sure no one was roaming to close to her spot, she lit a candle. 

She blew mounds of dust off the noticeably old and worn book she read the cover. _Hogwarts, The People That Made The History. _Immediately, Hermione knew she would like the book. She opened the cover and read the first page:

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The present is just a pleasant interruption to the past. 

'Hm, that's an interesting way of looking at it.' Hermione thought, agreeing with the saying. She turned the page and was greeted with just another sentence.

__

Proceed only if you truly wish to learn about the lives of the people that created your present.

Unfazed by the warning, Hermione turned the page and there was the table of contents. 'It seems to be the history of all the classes at Hogwarts, sort of like a muggle yearbook, I expect.' Hermione deducted. One particular class stuck out like a sore thumb to her. 

'Page 789....789' She chanted in her head as she flipped through pages. Her heart skipped a few beats as she finally found the page. Sure enough there he was, staring right into her eyes as if nothing had happened. Grinning up a storm and occasionally throwing a punch at the boy in the picture next to him which Hermione didn't waste a second in determining that it was James Potter, Harry's father. 

"Sirius..." She whispered, new tears springing from her eyes and cascading down her cheeks. "Why did you have to die..." She buried her head into her arms, she knew she must be ruining the pages with her tear drops but at the moment she didn't care. Before she knew it, she had dozed off into a blissful dreamless sleep. 

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"Ow, Lavender! How many times have I asked you not to wake me up by nearly breaking my ribs!" Hermione slightly slurred her words as she scolded, who she thought to be one of her roommates, about poking her in the ribs to awaken her. 

"Um, excuse me?" The person tried again. Hermione instantly awoke, not recognizing the voice at all. She was startled to be looking into a pair of a strangers hazel eyes. Trying to regain some consciousness she looked around and discovered, to her horror, that the invisibility cloak had slipped off her during the night and now she could feel it, with her toes, laying on the floor. After another few seconds she also discovered that she was sitting in the middle of the library in her pajamas which contained only a pink silk tank top and a matching pair of shorts. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. 

"Um, thank you for, uh, waking me up," Hermione smiled faintly at the young girl that had poked her in the ribs. The girl nodded and gave Hermione a wary look before rejoining what looked like her group of friends, pointing at Hermione and speaking in hushed tones. 

'Well, luckily it's still early so the library isn't that crowded.' Hermione thought to herself. She looked around at the table and couldn't find the book that she had been looking at yesterday. "How odd..." She thought out loud. But she didn't have time to worry about the book now. Hopefully she could sneak back to the common room before Ron or Harry woke up so they would never know she had left. She didn't need a barrage of their nosy questions, she had too much on her mind as it was. Gathering the invisibility cloak in a bunch, she realized she had lost the Marauder's Map. 

"Oh no," Hermione groaned, smacking her forehead. "Harry will never forgive me, I have to find it." Searching for a few more minutes, without any luck. She decided to go back up into the common room and come back later to search. She was getting many curious looks from people in the library. 

'What's wrong with them? I'm in my pajamas but I don't look that odd... I haven't sprouted a second head I don't know about, have I?' She thought to herself. She ducked into a deserted aisle and thrust the invisibility cloak over her. Feeling safe under the silky material she darted out of the library. Suddenly, she realized that none of the faces looked familiar to her. 'Strange...' She thought. She hopped up the deserted stairs, lucky for her it seemed that everyone was already at breakfast. As if on cue, her stomach began to rumble. 'Breakfast doesn't sound too bad right about now,' She thought. Then her stomach lurched as she remembered the Marauder's Map. The dreadful thought took over her mind. Before long she had just let her legs automatically lead her up the many flights of stairs to the Gryffindor common room. 

Before she knew what was happening she felt like she ran into an invisible wall and the momentum sent her flying backwards down the stairs. As the invisibility cloak flew off her as she tumbled down the stairs she got a look at what she ran into. Four boys were sprawled on the stairs, apparently knocked backwards also and she noticed they had an invisibility cloak as well just before she hit a platform with a resounding thud and a crack. Everything became black.

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    A/N – I hope you like the first chapter... I know it's short and doesn't hold much content or anything but I'm just dipping my toe in the water. I'm gonna see how people like it. 

So **please review!** The reviews inspire me to write.


	2. Chapter 2 What Lies In The Tapestries

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The Present Is Just A Pleasant Interruption To The Past

Chapter 2 –What Lies In The Tapestries 

By: Euphony

Disclaimer- see ch. 1

A/N: thank you's, comments and the likes... 

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Shattered-destiny – the reason she was crying was b/c of Sirius' death. I guess I didn't make that obvious enough, I should have had someone read it before I posted oops. See I put about the seeing Harry in his bed with tears in his eyes and the whole library thing. And the Hermione probably not leaving after hours... I thought about that too that's why I slipped in the little comment about how she had become more daring and had less tendency to follow school rules because I needed it to happen for the plot line. Thank you for your comments and everything I really appreciate it, it helps me become a better writer! 

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    Jade – Wow thank you SO much I feel SO stupid. I can't believe I forgot to put a spoiler notice on the top. Thank you so much for pointing it out. It's on there now. 

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Saba-Chan – The marauders map isn't with her because she wasn't touching it when she got transported. The invisibility cloak was because she was wearing it. =) Thanks for your review!

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Irish Lass

Dxdevlin

Kali shan

Rossalinda

Killer Angel

Jasmine Black

Rune Inverse

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people previously mentioned

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THANK YOU ALL SOOO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO REVIEW. IT SERIOUSLY MEANS SO MUCH TO ME. I LOVE YOU ALL. *SHOVES A COOKIE INTO YOUR MOUTH* *tear* thank you again. You don't know how much I appreciate it. So this next chapter is dedicated to you! 

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Hermione's vision was blurred as she blinked several times. She felt as if she were floating, light as a feather. Still not entirely in her right mind, she began to flail her arms about like a bird. 

"Weeeeee!" She giggled.

"Ow! She just got me right in the eye." A boy whined. 

"Yeah, she's nutters." Another boy chimed in as a few more voices laughed. 

Suddenly, something inside Hermione's mind clicked. She looked down, and to her surprise she was being carried up the stairs by four very unfamiliar looking faces. She began to feel a growing knot of panic in her throat and she began to struggle with them and scream. 

"GET OFF OF ME! What are you... what do you think... PUT ME DOWN!!" She screamed as she wrenching around kicking and shifting. 

"Oof, she just kicked me in the face," One of the faces yelled. 

"Just hold on tight to her." Another one responded. 

By now, breakfast had let out and the stairs were becoming crowded. Now the parading five were getting a lot of attention and snickers. Now along with her distraught feeling, she was also suffering from humiliation. However, no one seemed to know who the insanely-raving-mad-girl, as she was so fondly nicknamed in the gossip of the corridors, was. No one had ever seen her before. 

The boys continued their steel grip on the struggling girl. Her anger began to boil up. "Oh, you better let me down right now or I'll hex you to the next century!" She growled through clenched teeth.

"Oh, I don't think you'll be doing that," A boy, with shaggy, jet black hair that fell charmingly into his eyes, grinned as he held up a mahogany wand. "Seeing as how we have your wand." He cracked a giddy grin. 

Hermione scowled at him. Just for that, she gave another sharp kick and got him right in the jaw. She couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on his face. Shock with a mix of fury and admiration. They made it all the rest of the way up to the hospital wing without much more event. 

They finally made it to the door of the infirmary but discovered that they could not all fit through the door at once. An enlarging charm from Madam Pomfrey quickly fixed the problem and the boys came stomping in.

"What in the world did you boys do to this poor girl?!" Madam Pomfrey asked accusingly. 

"Nothing! She fell down the stairs, hit her head, blacked out for a few minutes, and we picked her up to bring her here and she turned nutters... although she might have been nutters before that, I'm not quite sure," One of the boys gave a cheeky grin as the lowered the girl down onto the nearest bed. As soon as they had removed their hands the girl bolted upright.

"Oh no you don't," Madam Pomfrey whipped out her wand and cast a charm on Hermione that flung her back onto her bed and glued her to the mattress. 

"Madam Pomfrey? Why in the name of all that is good are you doing this to me?" Hermione seethed. "I'm perfectly fine!" 

'Except that my head is throbbing so bad it makes me want to gouge out my eyeballs,' she thought. 

However, Madam Pomfrey just went to quickly shooing the four boys out of the room. 

"Nonsense child. You fell down a flight of stairs and hit your head. Here," She said handing her a cup that had erupted with an emerald steam. "Drink this, it'll stop whatever pain you acquired after your fall. It will make you drowsy though. You'll be staying here for the night, I insist upon it."

Hermione just sat there looking at her blankly. So much had happened her mind was tripping over facts and details. 

"Well, drink up child." Madam Pomfrey stood over Hermione tapping her foot impatiently. Hermione obediently downed the contents of the cup slightly wincing at the bitter taste. "Now that's better, isn't it?" Madam Pomfrey asked rhetorically. Satisfied that Hermione had drank the potion in its entirety, she bustled off to take care of the next patient who had stumbled into the door. He appeared to be sprouting tulips from his ears and nose. 

Hermione struggled to keep her eyes open. She had to wait for Harry and Ron to get here so she could talk to them about what had happened. Surely they would be up any minute to check on her. They had to have seen the whole fiasco on the staircase . She felt a rosiness returning to her cheeks. How embarrassing... being parading up the staircase being held by four boys. Four boys she didn't know. She had thought she had known everyone in the school... strange... Finally Hermione had to give into her heavy eyelids. She drifted off into a dreamless sleep. 

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Hermione's eyes snapped open abruptly. 'Where am I?' The past events from the day came flooding into her mind. "Ugh," She groaned out loud and slightly slapped her forehead. She then realized that she was no longer magically glued to the mattress. She got out of bed and stretched hearing some bones lightly crack. Her eyes started to become accustomed to the darkness and the room started to come into view. 

"I wonder what time it is," Hermione thought out loud to herself. Looking around, she spotted a clock above a cabinet full of bottles. "I don't remember that clock being there, or that cabinet any other time I was here," she furrowed her brow in confusion. "Oh darn, I think the clock says 1:15 but I can't really tell. I need some light..." Hermione trailed off groping for her nonexistent wand. 

__

He had it. "That annoying little prat." Hermione growled. "Wait till I find him, I'll give him a piece of my mind about humiliating me. Harry and Ron will back me up...Harry and Ron!" She had to go see them. She had to tell Harry about the book she found and, her stomach gave an uneasy lurch, about the Marauder's Map.

"Should I wait until morning? It is really late. I don't have the map, what if I get caught..." Hermione contemplated. "Harry would want to know as soon as possible. I owe it to him as his friend." She decided resolutely. "I'll just grab the invisbil..." She stopped mid sentence her mouth hanging open. 

Those boys must have taken it too. "That's it. They are really going to get it now. All four of them." She muttered. "Harry's going to slaughter me. Hey wait, maybe they didn't see the cloak and left it on the staircase." She thought hopefully. 

"No, someone would have already picked it up sometime during the day." She figured, the painful reality slap still stinging. "I have to try though." 

She opened the door to the infirmary and peeked out. She listened silently and decided it was clear. Her heart was beating twice it's normal rate and it felt like it had relocated itself right in the middle of her throat. 

'Am I crazy?!' Hermione thought, peeking around a corner and, deciding it was safe, tiptoed further down the corridor. 'This is something Ron and Harry would be doing and I'd be trying to talk them out of it. That hit on the head must have really jumbled your brain Hermione Granger,' She considered turning around and going back for a second and than continued on. 'I'm this far already, I might as well finish the job. Plus, I've got to do this for Harry. I'll just go to the dormitory after... I wonder if they...' 

Her thoughts ceased for a second as she focused on listening. She could have sworn she heard footsteps. Her heart raced and she stood still as a statue.

Clunk, clunk.

There it was again. She knew she wasn't imagining it this time. Her eyes darted around for an escape route. An invisible hand shot out of no where and grabbed her wrist. She was pulled clear off her feet and dragged backwards to a nearby tapestry hanging on the wall. Hermione started to let out a small screech before another hand clamped tightly over her mouth. She heard the footsteps stop abruptly and then quicken their pace. 

"Shut up." A disembodied voice hissed in her ear. She obeyed mostly because her mouth was so dry and there seemed to be some kind of huge awkward lump in her throat that caused her not to be able to form any words anyway. 

The tapestry swung aside and Hermione was dragged into a secret little inlet. The tapestry swung closed behind her and the person holding on to her sat down and pulled her down too. She could feel she was sitting on someone's lap.

"Keep quiet, unless you want to get detention for the rest of your life," The masculine voice whispered in her ear. The voice sounded oddly familiar. She could feel his warm breath on her ear and her neck. She felt a weird sort of excitement and thrill in her stomach that traveled all through her body. 

They heard the footsteps right outside their tapestry. They stopped. Hermione could feel the boy holding his breath and she followed suite. Her heart stopped and she was sure he must knew where they were. She squeezed her eyes shut waiting for the inevitable moment when the person would rip open the tapestry and laugh triumphantly as they dragged her to be punished. 

The moment never came. The footsteps started again and they both waited in silence until the footsteps were well out of sight. 

"Well, that was quite a close one now wasn't it?" The boy's tone was a lot lighter now. Hermione immediately got up, appalled at herself. 

"Who are you?" She asked sharply looking into the bleak nothingness of the inlet. "Invisibility cloak I see." She added knowingly.

"Yeah, and you also seem to know a lot about invisibility cloaks," the boy said pulling off the cloak unceremoniously. Hermione struggled to see him in the darkness. A ball of fire sprouted from the tip of his wand and rocketed off it onto an unlit torch on the wall. 

Hermione finally got a good look at the boy under the flickering fire, and took the opportunity to study his features. From the unceremonious black hair that was charmingly swept into his cerulean eyes to his strong male form. Hermione's breath caught in her throat. He looked just like... no. She stopped herself. You just think that because you miss him so much. 

She suddenly felt an unfamiliar rage inside her. "YOU'RE THE GIT THAT TOOK MY WAND!" She nearly screamed.

"SHUT UP!" He gave her an exasperated look. "What is it with you? Do you want to get caught out of bed in the middle of the night?" 

"That's my invisibility cloak too, isn't it?" She seethed, her voice dripping with venom. How dare he take her stuff? 

"No, actually it isn't." He replied shortly, giving her a smug look. 

"Well then, where is my cloak and my wand?" She asked crossing her arms in front of her chest angrily. 

"How should I know? Maybe you should take closer care of your things," He grinned mischievously. 

Hermione grunted in frustration. She crossed her arms tighter and broke her glare right into the boys roguish eyes. She had to plan out her next words carefully. Her eyes rested on the boy's hand. He had a piece of parchment in his hand... her eyes got wide. 

Following her gaze into his hand, the boy hurriedly wiped the parchment clean, hoping she hadn't already seen too much. 

"You have MY MAP!!" Hermione's voice shook with anger. 

"YOUR MAP?" The boy matched her tone. "Look!" He waved the, now blank, parchment tauntingly in front of her face. "It's just a piece of blank parchment, you silly girl."

She made a desperate grab for it but the boy held it above his head triumphantly. There was no way Hermione could reach it now, the boy was almost a good foot taller than she was. 

"Listen to me," Hermione reasoned, trying to keep the anger out of her voice as much as possible. 

The boy grinned, "Go on..."

"We both know perfectly well that the piece of parchment is a map so stop pretending it's not," She rolled her eyes and continued. "That map is my very good friend's and so is the invisibility cloak and the wand, well that's mine and I need all of them back right now," She demanded. 

"You say the map is your very good friend's, do you?" The boy asked trying not to laugh. 

"Mmhm," She said through clenched teeth, impatiently waiting for him to go on.

"That's quite funny you say that because it's not," He said. "I would really like to know who your friend is trying to take our idea though."

'Oh, I have him here," Hermione thought triumphantly. "Potter." She said resolutely with a smug look of satisfaction on her face. 

At this, the boy nearly started to roll on the ground with laughter. "That bump on your head must have really messed you up," He choked out through bursts of laughter. 

Hermione was nearly shaking with anger now. "And what, may I ask, is SO funny?" 
    
    "That boy, 'Potter'," He mocked her. "Happens to be my best friend, and I know everyone he is friends with and that doesn't include you, at all. You'll have to come up with a better lie."

"Actually, _I_ am his best friend and I don't recall you ever even talking to him," She spat back. The boy just broke into another fit of uncontrollable laughter. 

Hermione felt like ripping his vocal cords out. "This is ridiculous! I don't even know WHY I'm having this conversation in the first place." She said spinning on her heels preparing to open the tapestry. She peeked out and made sure that there was no one coming. 

"Hey! I think you owe me a 'thank you'," The boy sputtered out as he began to gain control once more. 

Hermione glowered at him. "I'm going to get my stuff back, you just wait." Her voice held an intriguing, menacing tone.

The boys eyes sparkled. "Hm, that sounded oddly like a challenge. I don't believe we're properly acquainted for a challenge. I'm Sirius," He said holding out his hand. 

Hermione stared down at it in disgust. "It's not a challenge," She said, ignoring his hand which was suspended in midair, "It's a fact. I'm out of here." She said pulling the tapestry back. 

"Fact, threat, promise, call it what you like. It's all a challenge to me." The boy retorted still grinning.

Hermione rolled her eyes, stepped out of the inlet and pushed the tapestry back into it as hard as she could. She heard an 'oof' and a soft thud of someone falling on their butt. 

She smiled to herself. "Hermione – 1, Sirius – 0." 

She continued to creep down the corridor as quietly as she could and was startled to hear a voice calling down after her. 

"You might want to hurry up, Madam Pomfrey's on her way to the hospital wing."
    
    Hermione whipped around to see Sirius' head poking out of the tapestry grinning devilishly. She swallowed hard. 

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    There's chapter numero dos! Lil espanol for yah. Sorry it took so long to get out... It's 5 pages longer than the first chapter! YAY! You said you wanted longer so you got it! 

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Please review... the reviews inspire me to write which means I write more faster and then you get to read it faster =)


	3. Chapter 3 Arguments

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The Present Is Just A Pleasant Interruption To The Past

Chapter 3 – Arguments

By: Euphony

Disclaimer- see ch. 1

A/N – Thank you's go out to...

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Saba-Chan – I thought of the pajamas as I wrote this chapter, but I wish I would have thought about it last chapter so I could have put in some sly comment from Sirius! That was a good idea. Oh well, good idea though! =) Thanks for commenting!

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OBXglider 

ilukaiba

Ryunne Inverse

Jasmine Black

OneOfaKind92

Irish Lass

Jade 

Killer Angel 

Frigg 

^^Gracias, merci, vielen dank, ringraziarlo, dank u, obrigado, and thank you in plain english! Honestly, there's nothing more gratifying then getting a review from someone who likes my story. THANK YOU! If I could give you all a present I would! *tear* I LOVE YOU ALL! 

THANK YOU! As always, this chapter is dedicated to the people previously mentioned.

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"You might want to hurry up, Madam Pomfrey's on her way to the hospital wing."

Hermione whipped around to see Sirius' head poking out of the tapestry grinning devilishly. She swallowed hard.

'Is he bluffing?' She thought desperately. She began to panic and upped her pace. Luckily, she didn't run into anyone else on her way back to the infirmary. She got to the door and bolted into her bed, pulling the sheets over her head. All she could hear was her racing heart and her heavy breathing. She concentrated on trying to make her breathing even. 

A few minutes passed and her heart dropped to a normal rate. She laid frozen in the silence and still no one came. 

'That bastard,' she thought bitterly. She snuggled down into her sheets and closed her eyes. 'Wait until I tell Harry and Ron about him, that'll be a good laugh, yeah that'll be a laugh...' And with that she dozed off into a blissful sleep. 

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Hermione awoke the next morning to the sharp sounds of Madam Pomfrey bustling around the room.

"Oh good deary, you're up," Madam Pomfrey immediately appeared at Hermione's beside holding another cup erupting with steam. "Drink this and than off you go. Here are some plain Hogwarts robes." She said, handing Hermione a plain black robe with the Hogwarts symbol embroidered on the chest. Hermione looked up at her blankly. 

"Well, you can't go off in just your pajama's now can you?" She asked rhetorically. "You can bring those back to me when you change." She added before leaving Hermione's beside in a rush.

Hermione took the cup and drank it in one gulp and pulled the robe over her head, anxious to go off and meet up with her friends. 

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey, it was nice seeing you again!" Hermione called out and dashed out of the room. 

"Your welcome dear..." Madam Pomfrey called out after her hesitantly. "But I've never seen you before," she added as an afterthought to herself. She shrugged and went to tend to the next afflicted child. Never a dull moment in the hospital wing. 

Hermione glanced down at her watch and raised her eyebrows. She must have slept in very late. 'I better grab my books for Charms before I go to breakfast, that way I can just go to class after I eat.' She decided and made her way towards the familiar old portrait of the Fat Lady. 

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"I'm telling you it's snigglewopple!" Hermione nearly screamed at the portrait. She had been standing there for nearly ten minutes fighting with the Fat Lady about the password. 

"It's NOT! As I've told you before, that's not the correct password and it hasn't been changed in the last week. I'm sorry, I can't let you through." The Fat Lady said emphatically. 

"But YOU KNOW ME. How many times have I come and gone through your portrait? You know perfectly well I belong to this house... I was a prefect last year for goodness sake!" Hermione challenged. 

"Actually, now that you mention that, I've never seen you before. What are you up to girl? What kind of mischief are you planning to pull. You don't look like a very trustworthy person, and I happen to be a very good judge of character." The Fat Lady adjusted her position in her big easy chair and stared Hermione down. 

Hermione stood with her mouth open in disbelief. Then a wave of revelation flowed over her. "Harry and Ron put you up to this, didn't they?" Hermione said glancing around suspiciously. "Where are they hiding? They're probably laughing too hard to jump out and scream "boo!" to top it all off." 

The Fat Lady stared at her blankly. 

"Oh all right, was it Peeves then? Was I just the unlucky person today? All right Peeves, funny ha ha..." Hermione was unable to finish her sentence as the portrait flung open and nearly knocked her off her feet. 

"Oh my gosh, I'm terribly..." Sirius stepped out of the portrait hole and got a good look at the person who had stumbled a few steps back to avoid falling on her rump. "Oh, it's just you. Serves you right than, doesn't it?" He snickered. 

"What are _you_ doing in the Gryffindor common room?" She asked tartly. 

"I think the correct question to be asking at this moment would be, 'Why are _you _trying to sneak into _my _common room?'" He looked genuinely interested in what kind of a cockamamie answer he would get from the mysterious girl. Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment and she looked a bit confused and then opened her mouth to retort. 

"Have you decided to become the new Gryffindor statue? Well, I'm glad of the career choice mate, but I think you should consider a new location before someone decides to set your hair on fire." A voice inside the portrait hole in which Sirius was blocking, cut Hermione off. 

Sirius moved out of the way and three more figures emerged from the hole. One of the boys whistled. They were all looking up and down at Hermione. She had begun to blossom as a young woman and was anything but hard on the eyes. 

'What in the hell is Harry whistling at and why is he hanging out with Sirius' Hermione thought. Upon a second look Hermione was shocked to discover that the boy whistling was definitely not her best friend. However they did hold many similarities... in fact all these boys looked oddly familiar. 'Impossible... it can't be.' Hermione as unaware that she had balled up her hands into tight fists and was clenching them so tightly her knuckles had gone white and her nails were digging further and further into her sweaty palms. 

"Whose your friend Sirius? I haven't seen her before..." One of the boys grinned giddily at Sirius. 

"I'm terribly sorry, where _have _my manners gone." Sirius shook his head. "Hermione Granger," He paused to add emphasis to her name.

'How does he know... the Marauder's Map. He must have seen my name on it last night,' She deduced. 

Sirius went on, carefully noting the shocked expression that dissolved quickly into a understanding one. "these are my best friends, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and," He added with relish, "my _very _dear friend Potter, James Potter but I gather you two have already met?" 

"No sadly, we haven't." James moved closer to Hermione taking her hand gently. "It's a pleasure to," he brought her hand dangerously close to his lips before Hermione yanked it away. Sirius outwardly laughed. Remus chuckled and quickly turned it into a badly faked cough and Peter sort of half laughed, half fake coughed not sure whose lead he should follow. 

"Oh really, because I was under the impression that you had met before, I guess I was right," He looked Hermione right in the eye with a little I-was-right-you-were-wrong smirk. "I mean, I guess I was wrong." He directed at James. 

Hermione scowled. Her assumptions were right. She had to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Anyway, back to the first question that has been left so painfully unanswered, what are you doing here?" Sirius cocked his head to the side slightly and waited patiently for an answer.

"I, well, I..." Hermione tripped over her words. Her tongue seemed to be tied in four million complex knots. The portrait of the Fat Lady quickly flew closed behind them. 

"I'll tell you what she was doing," The Fat Lady volunteered, a little bit miffed about how long she had to be kept open. Hermione sighed. "She stood her for a good ten minutes arguing with me about the password. She seemed to think that I had become mixed up in the head and didn't remember what it was. Now does that seem right to you? Don't you think I, being the keeper of the password for centuries before you were even a thought in anyone's mind, would know the password? Well anyway, then she started talking about how I had known her and how I had seen her come in and out of my portrait forever, and she was a prefect last year, and I've never seen her before in my life."

Sirius raised one eyebrow and looked at Hermione. She could see the wheels turning in his head. "You see, this is the girl that fell down the stairs and hit her head yesterday." Sirius leaned in closer to the Fat Lady and she bent her head down in her frame. He dropped his voice down a notch and continued, "she hasn't really been in her right mind ever since." He winked at her knowingly. 

The Fat Lady nodded, her mouth forming a little 'o'. "I was just about to suggest she broken out of St. Mungo's."

Hermione saw this as her chance to escape. She had to figure this whole mess out. She shuffled a few feet without anyone noticing and then took off in a slight jog. After she had taken a few steps she stopped dead in her tracks. A realization had struck her. She turned around. 

"It was nice meeting you all," She said, they all looked at her as if she had lost her mind. She couldn't be rude to people who were actually her elders, not to mention her teachers, her best friends parents and godparents. There was one exception she could make but she would find a way to get back at him soon enough. 

She whipped right around and ran as fast as she could, nearly knocking down a gossiping trio of first years. In a few seconds she was running the all-to-familiar trek to her one and only haven. The one place she could always count on in any situation. Finally, she saw the entrance a few feet ahead of her. She slowed down to a speed walk and walked in, careful to avoid all the curious stares.

She collapsed in a solitary easy chair positioned in a far deserted corner of the library. She dropped her head into her hands and let her index and her middle fingers massage her temples.

'James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew...Sirius Black' She thought, her mind lingered on the last name. 'It can't, I mean it _has _to be, unless someone is playing a very mean, twisted, sick joke, but how? How did I travel to the past without even knowing?" She fell back into the soft chair in thought. 'The book, it's the only reasonable explanation. I must have fallen asleep and the book transported me here. So I'll just find the book, and go back and all will be right again.' 

Hermione hoisted herself up from the chair and went in search of the mysterious bookshelf. She scanned ever nook and cranny of the library, twice. She even found herself sneaking into the restricted section. Again, another disappointment. Hermione's hands started to tremble involuntarily. 

Then it hit her like a cold breeze on a stifling hot August day. 'Madam Pince! Even if she won't give it to me maybe she'll give me a clue as to where it is.' Hermione nearly ran to old, stiff librarian's desk but she forced herself to go at a brisk walk. She didn't want to look too suspicious. 

She got to the desk and Madam Pince was bent over a huge book with a red quill. Hermione cleared her throat before beginning. "Excuse me, Madam Pince?"

The rigid librarian looked up at Hermione. She waited for a few seconds and then said, exasperated, "Yes?"

"Oh, well I was just wondering if you could point me in the direction of a book. It seems sort of like a muggle yearbook, it has the pictures of every student that has ever been at Hogwarts..." Hermione trailed off. 

Madam Pince straightened up from her book and took off her glasses. "I'm sorry, we don't carry any books that fit your description." She looked at Hermione strangely. 

"No, you must be mistaken." Hermione stated bluntly.

Madam Pince puffed up her chest and said scornfully, "I am _never_ mistaken about what books are in this library." 

"I know it's here! I know it. Please this is an emergency, please point me in the direction of the book. I'll get Professor Dumbledore's permission if you want it." Hermione pleaded with the already-offended librarian. 

"How many times do I have to tell you, there is NO such book in this library." Madam Pince looked Hermione straight in the eye. 

Hermione closed her eyes for a second, regaining her composure. "Madam Pince, you surely are mistaken. I know that this book is located somewhere in this library..." 

Madam Pince cut her off. "No it isn't, I've never heard of such a book!"

"Yes there is! It's in this library I'm telling you..." Hermione trailed off as she heard a familiar snickering coming from nearby. She wheeled around to find the Marauders clumped in a group a few feet away from Hermione staring at her and laughing. 

She scowled at them and began to walk away from Madam Pince's desk, eager to get away from them. She could talk to Madam Pince later. However, she had to walk right by the group to get to the door and out of the library. She started to walk, careful not to make eye contact. She was almost past the group when the familiar voice called out to her. 

"Why is it that every time I run into you, you're arguing with someone. And every time, you've been wrong? Do you have some incurable I'm-always-right-no-matter-what-even-when-it's-obvious-I'm-wrong disease?" Sirius piped up, standing right in the middle of the close knit group. 

"Ha, ha," Hermione faked a laugh badly. "That was terribly clever of you Sirius, did you think of that all by yourself?" Hermione retorted sending him a glare before walking briskly out of the library, head up, and delicate slightly curly mahogany hair flowing behind her. As she turned the corner, she dared to peek a look behind her. As she had anticipated, Sirius stood with his mouth open dumb struck. She knew from his future self that no one usually challenged him, in anything, ever. Except possibly, James, but that was very rarely. She felt slightly guilty for acting so rudely towards someone that in the future is her elder. She reasoned with herself. That's the future. The Sirius Black in the past and in the future are two different people. I should probably just act normally. After all, I'm their age now. Feeling satisfied with her reasoning she continued on.

She smiled in triumph but the triumph was short lived as she felt this cold wet sensation overtake her entire body. She looked down in horror. She was soaking wet. She whipped around, her wet hair slapping her in the face and sticking to it as she did so. She looked back at the four boys rolling on the ground in laughter. She pulled the wet hair off of her face and growled at them. She was too angry to even form any words.

She was attracting many stares in her current state and she couldn't even use a simple drying spell on herself, or for that matter a revenge hex, because she didn't have her wand. 'Just wait until I get my wand, they'll get this back ten fold.' She thought to herself comfortingly as she stormed off down the corridors, ignoring all of the curious stares and snickers. 

She found herself in front of a place she should have gone a long time ago. She looked around to make sure no one was coming and started rattling off various candies.

"Chocolate frog, licorice, lollipop..." She racked her brain. Why was it that when you needed to think of something quickly, your mind goes blank?

"Excuse me young lady. Dumbledore was called off urgently a few nights ago." 

Hermione turned her head in shock. A tall, slim woman stared back at her. Hermione was slightly reminded of her own head of house except this version was a lot older. 

Hermione smiled wanly. "Right, I knew that." She shook her head.

"Then just what do you think you are doing?" The woman asked raising one eyebrow. "And why on earth are you dripping wet child!" The woman flicked her wand and instantly Hermione was dry as a bone. She was instantly grateful for that. 

"I....was... just..." Hermione had to think fast to get out of this one. "...looking for the lavatory. Yes, that's it. Well, I gather this isn't it so I'll just be off to go find one, it really is an emergency." Hermione smiled wanly, before turning on her heel and bolting off in the opposite direction. 

"Wait!" The woman called out after her. "What house do you belong to child?"

"Um, I'm Dumbledore's niece." The words just shot out of Hermione's mouth like it wasn't hers. She instantly regretted speaking. She should have just ran. Now she had a monumental lie weighing on her shoulders. She smacked her forehead.

Dumbledore's niece?! What was she thinking?

That lady was sure to go off checking to see if she was telling the truth. She may even contact Dumbledore. 

Hermione needed a plan. And fast. 

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I sincerely hope you guys liked this chapter. Hermione... what have you gotten yourself into girl? Haha. I guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter.

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Please review... the reviews inspire me to write which means I write more faster and then you get to read it faster =)


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